cooking with alan

Information
New Zealand Mountain Oysters in a sushi style are a take on the classic Rocky Mountain Oysters from North America, but using Sheep’s balls and prepared in a way to make the Japanese proud. This meal is best served at room temperature using fresh ingredients. The fresher the sheep balls, the better. Never use frozen balls because they lose their flavour.

Ingredients and required items
8 to 16 sheep testicles (skinless balls are fine)
2 to 4 cups of medium grain rice
Nori Seaweed or Soybean paper (some people don’t like seaweed)
Half a cup of Sugar

Step 1
Cook the rice like you would normally do it but add a little sugar (rice cooker / pot / microwave etc). This helps it all to stick together. Let it cool down for around 45 minutes.

Step 2
Get your Seaweed or Soybean paper and lay it flat on a chopping board. Place about a cup of rice on the paper, and spread it out. Roll it up like you would for a sausage roll and then use a little bit of sugar in a pinch of water as a glue to hold it all together.

Step 3
Wait about five minutes for it all to settle down and for the sugar and water mix to do its stuff. Cut it into four evenly sized bits

Step 4
I like to use a caramel sauce with the sheep testicles. It makes the sour taste and squishy feeling of the testicle a little more life. Usually just sugar fried in a pan or pot is enough.

Step 5
Now it is time to give your balls a quick wash. I don’t like to use cold water, as it makes them go a little brittle. Water which is just warm is more then suitable.

Step 6
Place the sushi rolls onto a plate and then place the sheep testicles onto the sushi. Use the caramel sauce to cover the balls as the picture below

Welcome to the world of mountain oysters! I bet your friends could spend hours trying to guess what they just ate. And even if you tell them, they will not believe you!

Information

Chocolate mouse is nice. I remember my mother making it for me when I was younger. I don’t seem to recall how to do the mouse as I presume she used something to make it all minced up real fine, but from what I can gather, the following should be suitable.

Ingredients and required items
A few mice – I used two
500 grams of good quality chocolate
3 eggs
¼ cup of sugar 1
table spoon of cocoa powder
300ml of cream, plus extra whipped cream and grated chocolate for serving

Step 1
Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over some hot water. Stir until chocolate has melted / just before it starts to boil. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly

Step 2
Place eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beater for a few minutes. Fold it in the cooled chocolate mix and add some cocoa powder and mix until it turns into a single entity.

Step 3
Using a blender, dice the mice up until it is a liquid. This make take a long time. I am not sure how my mother did it as I cant even recall her buying the mice to begin with! After it has turned into liquid, mix in wit the chocolate. You may need to add some corn flour to thicken things up.

Step 4
In a new bowl, whip the cream until it is thick. Use a large spoon and carefully fold the cream into the chocolate mixture. Spoon the mix into smaller bowls for eating late. Place in fridge for a few hours and remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving.

Step 5
Prior to serving, add sprinkles of chocolate and fresh cream on to.

Your friends would be amazed at this wonderfully easy chocolate mouse. By changing a few items, such as strawberries instead of chocolate, you will have strawberry mouse.